


A Tail Too Short

by JupiterMonarchy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Culture, Blood and Gore, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra Lance (Voltron), Gore, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-18 18:46:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14858228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JupiterMonarchy/pseuds/JupiterMonarchy
Summary: All that Keith wanted was to remember something about his mother from his childhood in order to connect better. Obviously he was asking for too much and just dumped a huge can of worms on himself.





	A Tail Too Short

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my fiction workshop class so this first chapter has been edited like 10+ times and read by multiple people who gave feedback. I wanted to post this once I had all of the story done, but I'll just install it by chapters since I have a lot of ideas I want to put into this story.

Duck, duck, swing, jab. Back up, swerve, kick, punch. Keith jumped back as the training bot aimed for his chest to off-set him. Keith smirked to himself as he pulled off a roundhouse kick sending the bot flying to the side before skidding to a stop.

“End training sequence.” He heaved as he grabbed a water pouch off the bench before leaving the training deck. He wandered the metal alien ship halls since he didn’t have any particular destination in mind. There was no battle to rush to against the battle ships of the Galra, or diplomatic meeting to attend to convince another planet to join the Voltron Coalition. They defeated emperor Zarkon, the leader of the Galra with the help of his own son, Lotor. Although to be granted he wasn’t there to see it happen, he did his part for the victory.

At the time of the great victory he was away on a mission of his own with the rebel group known as the Blade of Marmora. It had come as a huge shock to the team finding out he was part Galra but it worked out. His joining of the Galra rebel group though was not a bad decision. The Blade went to show everyone that a race does not represent all of its individuals. In any race there were those who are strong and brave enough to stand up against the injustices being done to the universe. By going with the Blade he showed the Galra race had those individuals and he was one of them. Although his friends made fun of his valor at times he knew he was part of the solution. And just maybe he liked to fight as a way to keep his mind clear.

One would think that the Blade would have made a bigger impact in the past thousand years. They had the contacts to create change given the fact that during all that time they had infiltrated some of the top-ranking positions in the empire. However, they had not made much headway in making a real and long lasting difference. The only progress they seem to make was getting spies amongst the emperor’s top elite and stealing valuable data. 

Maybe the cause of their lack of impact was most likely tied into their code: knowledge or death. And they were loyal to their code. Each member was ready and willing to do what it takes to get knowledge including die while trying. Unfortunately, most did die without much gain to show for the sacrifice. Really, they needed a better motto to work with: knowledge and alliances might be better. They only started making a difference with what they had gained so far by joining arms with the legendary Voltron, defender of the galaxy. An ancient robot created 10,000 years ago by the ruler of Altea, King Alfor, which emperor Zarkon wanted for himself knowing it was the only thing that could stop him.

After cleaning up with the Blade he got his own personal reward too. Sure he killed enemies and made friends. He had even been sent out on a Blade mission to retrieve a spy who happened to be his mother. Once getting back to the Blade’s base after an awkwardly silent trip Keith had informed the leader, Kolivan that he’d be spending time with his friends. Keith was left to just rest and train, back at “base” with the rest of the group. This shouldn’t have been an issue, but he had become too used to the hustle and bustle of back to back fights or frantic distress calls.

The quiet calm of space as the castle-ship drifted without urgency was starting to grate on his nerves. He never cared for these slow times. Not that he liked being on the edge of death. He just disliked being bored to death more. He needed action to keep his mind from thinking and remembering too much. A distraction some would call it. He just called it staying sane and focused. He needed something to keep his mind focused. Something was bound to happen soon. For better or for worse it always seemed to.

That something just turned into Keith. Literally. It was walking straight into the large, buff, cuddly mechanic, Hunk, with a grunt. Walking into Hunk would not have been his first choice for a distraction, if he had a choice, but it did the trick. That was the great thing about being active, you did not always know what was next, so you had to be sharp and focused. Of course, it typically hurt a bit when you were not focused, and things happened. Just like now. It was great to have Hunk in battle to intimidate with his size, but not so great when anyone tried to occupy the same space as him at the same time.  
“Oh, Keith, been training again?” Hunk chuckled with a smile as he scratched the back of his head, avoiding the yellow head band he had tied in his choppy brown hair. Good reflexes are great and all but when it comes time for contact, he preferred bulk and his preference always paid off when he “chanced” into Keith. And it was always good for a chuckle. Cat like and stealthy, maybe he was not. He was however a good impersonation of a mobile brick wall and he preferred that. And the chuckle it afforded him.

Keith couldn’t help but smile, only a little though. If Lance saw, he’d never hear the end of how he’s turning into a soft space cat Galra. Which he was not. He was just slight of build, especially compared to Hunk. Then again, most could say that compared to Hunk and to be fair the Galra came in all shapes and sizes. The one main shared feature of the Galra was that nearly all their skin was a shade of purple. Keith was still the same. He was still sporting his same old boring look, mullet and all; to Lance’s disappointment.

Which didn’t bother him in the slightest. No-sir-e. His mind was not muddled with thoughts of what Lance, the current Red Paladin, thought of him. At least that is what he told himself but not very convincingly. The dark skinned, blue eyed, brown hair drop dead gorgeous lean man did not cause his insides to do summersaults at all. He was smitten but he did not want anyone else to know. He’d rather be caught reading bedtime stories to Red, one of the robotic lions that made Voltron when combining with the other four lions, instead of admitting to his crush on Lance.

Hunk was really a great guy though and had been one of the first from their little universe-defending-squad to speak up and make light of the reveal of Keith’s Galra heritage. Which, now looking back, he was really grateful for. His sense of placement in the group had become unsteady, but he knew now that it was mostly just his own fears and self-doubt clouding his mind. Hunk meant well and he was not shy to stand up for others without thought of the cost to him and Keith respected that.

“Oh, hey I want you to test something for me.” Hunk said with a nod before continuing on down the hallway, now with Keith in tow. Even though his size could be intimidating, he was simply just a friendly giant softy. He had a quality that made anyone want to make him pleased and happy. Also, there was that small bit about basically being bored and having nothing better to do that made it easy to follow Hunk at the moment.

“Is it another weird food concoction? I don’t think my digestive track can handle another one.” His thought only went to that memory for a split second. Everyone that ever tasted anything Hunk made agrees Hunk is a master in the kitchen. But there was nothing even Hunk could do when the food supplies he had at his disposal on the ship were 10,000 years past their due date. It only made it worse that Hunk had no way of knowing that until dinner time when the rest of the Paladins of Voltron and the two Alteans were gagging and running to the bathroom to puke their guts out. There was no warning and it was not pretty.

“No, no, something else. I’ve been working on the mind melders.” Hunk was excited, and he seemed pleased with himself. This would have been a red flashing warning sign if it had been Pidge fiddling with something. She was always upgrading and finding ways to have an edge against the Galra. Unfortunately, not everything worked how she wanted it to. Of course, this did not deter Pidge from trying again and again but it did succeed in making everyone very cautious when it came to Pidge and her “creations” as she called them.

“The mind melders? Why mess around with those? Thought we were done with those stupid things.” Keith grumbled while crossing his arms.

“Well I thought it would be a helpful way to get Shiro’s memories back and to, ya know, have him remember happier times before his whole tortured by the Galra for a year nightmare.” Hunk said the last bit in a whisper even though Keith and he were the only ones in the hallway currently. Shiro survived the ordeal but no one had forgotten it and no one had remained untouched by it. It had been a bad year for everyone and it was slow getting better. What with the Galaxy Garrison claiming that their top piloting graduate student had been the cause of the missing Kerberos mission crew consisting of Shiro, Matt, and Samuel. If anything was worth messing with the mind melders, it would be trying to find a way for Shiro to regain happier memories from his past years on Earth.

Keith slowly nodded while mulling over the idea. It could be very useful for any of them really, but for him especially this held promise. Using the mind melder could be a chance for himself to dig up memories from his childhood. Maybe there he would find repressed memories he had of his mother. He might have found her on his mission, but he definitely still had more questions and confusing memories than he had answers and he wasn’t about to go and ask her. She hadn’t been a part of his life for roughly sixteen years and now she was back. He did not want to ruin the little relationship they did have. No way was he about to just willy-nilly ask her questions about her abandoning him and his father. This could provide answers for him, but he was afraid of at what cost they might come. The melding was a safer shot at getting some answers for now.

Hunk was watching him closely and patiently while waiting for a response. He wasn’t stalling, and he wasn’t out of touch. Hunk didn’t miss when Keith’s hand ghosted over his sheathed Marmora blade. Hunk smiled as Keith gave a curt nod of agreement. The reasoning he used was simpler than finding hidden answers, it was that it’s better to let Hunk do his thing and burn some time in the process than being bored some more. It sounded good to him and hopefully the reasoning was correct.

They made their way to the work room Hunk and Pidge had claimed as their space to engineer things out together. Like Hunk, Pidge was another paladin of Voltron and she piloted the Green Lion. She was not here at the moment which was better. Hunk and Pidge together with a project can be too much to handle for anyone. The door swooshed aside to let them into the room and Hunk headed over to his station. For his size, Hunk could move lightly and delicately when he wanted to, and he made his way to his station without knocking over or crushing any of the doodads that filled the room.

Keith slowly stepped in, taking in the sight of glowing gizmos, crystals, scattered computer parts, and half built/mangled robotics. It seemed a hopeless mess but there was method to the clutter and he was able to find the gadget easy enough. He held up the modified mind melder, with eagerness pulling at his lips.

Hunk was not exactly making him comfortable at the moment. Even though Keith had gotten better and less scared to come out of his shell around the team, he still preferred to keep to himself. Hunk was basically asking him to bear it all and to give up control. He just had to remind himself that Hunk meant well and was only trying to help. Knowing this only helped a little bit however.

“I’ll just be monitoring your vitals and brain activity while you wear this.” Hunk said while handing the mind-meld cap to Keith. He made sure the cap was on properly. Hunk connected the leads to his recording machine before grabbing the rest of the needed equipment. He didn’t totally believe the stories of mind melding literally melting the brain if things were not done just right, but he was not ready to test out the truth behind the myth. And he was sure Keith would not appreciate it if it did happen because he was careless with the equipment.

Keith hopped up onto the workbench and stared at another of the white mesh cap laying nearby. It seemed delicate, but it always looked imposing since it was of another world with blue glowing sensors at the temples and center forehead. It was an invention from Altea, the homeworld of Princess Allura and her advisor Coran. Allura and Coran were the last remaining Alteans since Altea had been destroyed by Zarkon 10,000 years ago. 

With a sigh he adjusted the cap on his head, being mindful of the wires attached to it. He silently watched as Hunk stuck more sensors on his arms. He took deep breaths through his nose and slowly let them out from his mouth as he closed his eyes. The breathing was actually part of the mind-meld process of calming down and clearing one’s mind. Breathe, repeat, breathe repeat. He was not so sure it worked.

“Everything on tight and proper then?” Hunk asked as he checked things one last time just to make sure.

“Yes, Hunk. Lemme just concentrate!” He wasn’t really mad at Hunk but he was getting edgy and he just wanted to get on with it. That and now he had to do the whole breathing process thing all over again.

For a moment there was nothing, no changes or memories bubbling up for him to look at. He was not sure if he was disappointed or relieved but either way it did not last long. That is until a bright flash filled his mind engulfing his every thought and placed him back in his father’s shack. It only took a second to get his bearings. He looked down at himself and realized that this must have been a childhood memory. Keith’s hands were small. When he looked up, his father was on the sofa staring at a photograph he was holding.

He stepped forward and placed a small hand on his father’s knee. The thoughts and emotions from his younger self, of uncertainty and fear, flooded his mind. He recognized what was happening. He was only six and it was the second anniversary of his mother leaving his father and him. Keith could only watch as his father smiled sadly down at him before picking him up and giving him a hug.  
“We’re really on our own Keith. Your mom ain’t coming back.” His father said while letting the family photo of all three of them drop to the floor. It was hard for him to see the pain in his father’s face and on his own face as a child. Remembering always comes with a price and sometimes it is too much to bear but he continued on hoping to find something. He was helpless to the onslaught of emotions that he just couldn’t place his finger on as he floated haphazardly to the next set of memories.

The image of his father and him faded away and was replaced with searing pain spreading up from his lower back. His eyes snapped open and his room was filled with someone shrieking and a loud ringing in his ear. Everything in the room blurred from his tears. The screams, they were from him, and he was sobbing uncontrollably. Begging for his father to come and help him. Screaming for his mother to protect him.

His father was already there beside him. The feeling of rough calloused hands consumed him. It was comforting and yet confusing. Why was his father here, now? He knew that his father spent all his time in his workshop. It had been his father’s way of just busying himself to try and forget his sad broken heart. 

Keith realized he must have passed out shortly afterwards. The next time he woke up and rolled over there was a dull throbbing pain at his tailbone. A tail. He used to have a tail. That is, he used to have a tail until his father took measures into his own hands. Keith’s father had decided that his Galra heritage could never be discovered. His father had already lost Keith’s mother, Krolia, and he was not losing Keith to the government. 

Keith let out a loud shrill as he was pulled out of the memory and was blinded by the blue lights of the castle room. His body was tense and cold as he jumped off the workbench. Coming out of a memory could be the worst part of mind-melding.

“Whoa Keith. Are you ok?” Hunk was a bit concerned.

Keith was still lost in the lingering frays of the memories, but his reactions were real. He wasn’t just sitting still anymore. Hunk had been startled when Keith jerked and started shaking as he tried curling up in a ball on the workbench.

He felt strong arms hold him up as his vision refocused from spiraling out of control. He just wanted to see a memory of his mother. That desire was strong enough to keep him trying. Anything to give him more of a connection to her than just a magical space knife she left him when she decided that going back to the Blade was more important than her own son. He thought his memories held the answer to understanding how she could leave him as a child, and then once reuniting with him saying she would never leave him again. As if! Everyone got disappointed and fed up at some point and would eventually leave him. 

But the memory of his mother never came. Instead, he gained access to a repressed memory about himself and his dad. He found out that he once had a tail and the realization that his father had been the one to evidently chop off his tail. That was enough for now and he started to come out of the meld.

Keith slowly blinked, feeling his tears congeal in the corner of his eyes before spilling over and leaving tracks down his cheeks. He squandered and shoved Hunk back while shaking his head violently. He held his hand up just wishing to will Hunk to be silent and not push for any answers. He wasn’t going to stick around to even chance it as he saw Hunk go to say something. He would deal with questions from others later, maybe. Right now he had to get a grip on this and not loose himself completely to the shock.

He ran for it, he just straight up frickin ran as fast as he could. He ran, but he was still not fully himself, resulting in him losing his balance and footing a few times before slamming his hand against the scanner to open the door to his assigned room. Any place was fine as long as he was alone. Right now, he could not handle anything else or anyone else. He had to calm down and get a hold of his emotions and memories.

He took a deep breath trying to even out his panting. He stumbled into his room and the door closed behind him. He leaned back as his legs started to give out on him and he slid down his closed door and pulled his knees up to his chest. Time slowly passed. He skipped dinner and ignored Hunk’s repeated pleas for him to join the rest of the team.  
Once he heard Hunk finally walk away, he slowly got up and made his way to his bathroom. God, he was a mess. His face was splotchy, eyes red shot, and his nose was running. He quickly washed up and sighed. “Be careful what you search for as the treasure you find may be cursed worse than the dying sun,” so the saying goes. He truly understands it now, but it does not help to deal with the new found reality. 

He could deal with this. No, he would deal with it. Somehow. Yes, there was no other choice but to deal with it so that was what he would do. It was in the past and there was no way to change that. He had managed to get by so far without a tail. There wasn’t any point to mourn its loss now. Besides, he had always chalked up his lack of coordination to lack of control and lack of concentration. Now he knew the real reason. He would have never guessed it was because he was lacking a tail to counter balance himself with. Maybe not having a tail forced him to be better at control and concentration. He would tell himself that. He would repeat it to himself for as long as it took to believe it so he could move on.

The lack of tail would also explain his odd gait and the feeling always hiding at the edges of his thoughts, nagging at him that something was off and not quite right. The knowledge could be seen as helpful. He decided that it was going to be helpful. He smiled to himself before he left his room to go back to the training deck. He wouldn’t let this new knowledge drag him down. He would decide how it would affect him. He would remain in control. He survived losing a part of himself, but he was determined that he would be stronger because of it even if he did not understand at the moment why it happened the way it did.

The war wasn’t completely over yet. The legendary robot defender Voltron and its Paladins would still be needed, along with the Blade. The Galra empire as it was before was not destroyed but it was effectively split into three fractions. Lotor reigning as the new emperor ruling over the faithful Galra that respected the age-old tradition in the shift in power, Haggar the Altean druid and her puppets, and then the squabbling generals trying to overthrow each other and Lotor. And now, he was aware of his own reality. He lost his mother, lost his tail, lost his father, lost Shiro, just to simply put it he’d get through this like he always did. Everything he had to do was for the greater good and he would keep putting that at the forefront of everything. And now he would concentrate on finding food.


End file.
